


The Source

by Itbelikethatsometimes



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt Peter Parker, Kidnapped Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Spider-Man: Homecoming Spoilers, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-10-06 07:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20502923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itbelikethatsometimes/pseuds/Itbelikethatsometimes
Summary: ~~~~~~~~COMPLETE~~~~~~~~~~“I’ve brought you here to ask you a question.” He said in a way that made Peter feel safe. Like the way a parent talks to a child to calm them down. “I just need you to tell me who Spider-man is.”“How the hell should I know?” Peter replied.~~~~~~Or: Peter is kidnapped and the man is trying to get to Spider-man through Peter.(The title has nothing to do with the phone store i'm just bad at naming things).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok i hope you guys like this story. it's my first time posting but I've been reading fics on here for around two years. Ahh let me know if there's anything to work on! Thanks for reading!

Peter had a pretty rough day. He hadn’t eaten in 2 days, Ned had been gone all day for a field trip, and he wasn’t even close to finishing his physics assignment. Normally, Peter would finish all his homework after spider-maning, but recently he’d been pushing his curfew. Usually his curfew was at 2 AM. However, around 1:40 he would text May and make an excuse to stay out later. It’s not that he didn’t want to go home, he just didn’t want to have to face the mountain of homework that would face him when he did finally return home. So, that meant he would stay out until 3 AM or later, fall into bed, and pass out until the morning. 

So yea. Peter was tired, and failing. The only speck of hope he could see was going to Avengers tower and working in the lab with Mr. Stark. 

When the school bell rang, Peter rushed out into the parking lot to wait for Happy to pick him up. Peter sat on the front steps of the school thinking of the new upgrades he could put on his suit. 

After around 3 minutes of being in tech land, he heard Ned say: 

“Peter! Come see this!”

The sound of his best friend’s voice was confusing, but nice to hear after the day he’d had. Peter followed the voice back into the school and looked around the empty halls. No sight of Ned. His spidey senses immediately went off. His head spun towards the auditorium door. Five large men wearing masks were trudging towards him. Peter was thinking of a plan to avoid the men whilst keeping his identity a secret. After all, there were cameras everywhere. This was a school.

Ok Ok think! Five big, angry guys in masks looking at me while moving directly towards me. Ok ok ok. Easy pretend I didn't see them and then hide in the bathroom! Great! Cool.

Before Peter could initiate his plan, he felt large arms wrap around his torso. Six men. There were six men. Peter struggled beneath the man’s grip but, if he wanted to keep his identity safe, he had to lose. One of the men from the auditorium took a rusty crowbar from his belt and hit Peter hard on the head. Peter didn’t lose consciousness right away. His healing powers helped. He was fuzzy though. He couldn’t keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time and everything he saw was out of focus and spinning. That was no problem for crowbar man. One more hard hit to the temple sent Peter straight out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony had been in his lab for a good 48 hours. He hadn’t gone to bed after the kid went home on Tuesday. He just kept working and working and working. Peter was supposed to be coming in 20 minutes and Tony was excited to show him all the new upgrades he made on the iron spider. As he was refilling his mug with coffee, FRIDAY activated.

“Boss, you’ve got a call from Happy Hogan.”

“He’s probably just letting me know he’s got the kid. Voicemail. Thanks FRI.”  
“He says it’s urgent sir.”

“Bring him in.” 

Tony had a sudden inkling that something had happened to the kid. Maybe they crashed? Or Peter fell down the stairs and broke his neck? 

Before Tony could spiral further, Happy’s voice croaked over the speakers.

“Tony! They got him! You gotta get down here!”

“Happy slow down what happened?” Tony said. The lump in his throat getting bigger.

“I was in the parking lot waiting for Peter, and these guys came outta nowhere, grabbed him and took off!”

“Did you try to stop them? You’re the forehead of security!”

“Yea but one guy had a crowbar and he hit me real hard.”

Tony was silent. God how could I let this happen? I should have been in the car with Happy. I should always be there to pick him up!

“So what do we do?” Happy asked after a while of silence.

“Assemble the team.” Tony replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter awoke slowly. It took him a long time to become aware of his senses. First, he felt the ground he was laying on. It was cold and rough. Next he smelled mould. It was sour and powerful. Then he tasted metal in his mouth. Blood. He could hear pipes full of churning water. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw only darkness. He stayed in his position on the ground for a long time. He couldn’t bring himself to sit up. His head felt like it was full of cotton and he was afraid that if he moved he would throw up. 

After what felt like hours, he heard the creaking of a door and footsteps coming towards him. 

“Hey, kid.” said the man above him. “You awake?”

The voice sounded kind and fatherly.

“Msr ssterk?” Peter mumbled.

The man chuckled. “No. Not quite as criminal.”

More footsteps flowed into the room. Suddenly, Peter was grabbed by the arms and dragged out of the room. The light that met his eyes was painful but welcomed. They dragged him into a large room that had only one old, dusty chair. Peter quickly snapped out of is hazy fog and finally realized how serious his situation was. He struggled against the arms carrying him but they just shoved him into the chair. Peter made a note to call those two Buffy and Body. A man stood behind his chair. He grabbed Peters arms and wrenched them behind the back of the chair and restrained them with police grade handcuffs. Peter knew he could snap them easily, but he wasn’t sure if these guys knew he was Spider-man. 

A man walked into the room and took his mask off. He was a normal looking guy. No huge scars or anything you’d expect from a kidnapper. He just looked normal. He kind of reminded Peter of his Uncle Ben. He had oil stained pants and dry looking hands. His shirt had small tears in the seams. 

“Hello Peter.” The man said in a fatherly voice.

Peter took note to call him leader.

“I’ve brought you here to ask you a question.” He said in a way that made Peter feel safe. Like the way a parent talks to a child to calm them down. “I just need you to tell me who Spider-man is.”

“How the hell should I know?” Peter replied.

“Well, we have a source back in Oregon that says you do.” 

Oregon? I’ve never been to Oregon. How does someone there know me?

“You must’ve gotten the wrong guy then. There’s probably a lot of Peter Parkers in New York.” 

“No no. She specifically said 17 year old Peter Parker. He goes to Midtown high school of science and technology. Lives with his aunt May in Spring-land apartments number 27. Best friend of Ned Leeds. Sound familiar?” He said in a matter-of-fact way.

Peter felt sick. Leader didn’t fully threaten the lives of his aunt and friend but he got the idea. How does someone in Oregon know so much about him?

“Well your source must be wrong. How would I know spider-man?” 

“Our source said that you have an internship with Tony Stark, and have met spider-man.” Leader said in a cool voice. “You can’t make any more excuses. Let’s cut to the chase. You know who he is and i want to know. You tell me, and I let you walk out of here. You don’t tell me, you’ll be here a while.” 

His voice had changed from a normal guy, to desperate psycho real quick. Peter was out of options. He had to stay here and hope help was going to come eventually. No matter how long it takes. They would probably kill him if they found out he was Spider-man. So what’s some light torture huh?

“Keep me here as long as you want. I can’t tell you because I don’t know.” 

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Leader rubbed his calloused hands together and walked out of the room leaving Peter alone in the musty room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys liked Chapter 1 so here we go!

Tony landed on the concrete beside Happy. The mask of his suit melted away. His eyes were slightly bloodshot from lack of sleep. He could feel his heart pounding faster and faster.

“What do we got Happy?” Tony asked slightly too fast.

“He was right there,” Happy choked. “Right behind the door. And then some guy grabbed him from behind. He hardly fought them. They hit him twice with a crowbar and walked out the door. I got out of the car to stop them but they just hit me and left. I don’t know which way they went.”

Tony’s throat closed up. Happy hadn’t seen their faces or their car. There was no way of tracking the kid. They stood in silence for a while. Tony was biting his lip. If he could think of something Peter kept on him all the time that wasn’t too obvious to the kidnappers he could track it and find where they took Peter.

“Did the kid have his cell?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know. He didn’t send me a million texts today.” Happy replied.

“I’ll meet you back at the tower. I’ll track his phone.” Tony said before taking off into the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room had been quiet for quite some time now. Peter wasn’t sure how long it had been. It could have been two hours or two minutes. His arms were starting to get sore from being bent strangely around the back of the chair. As he tried to shift them around into a more comfortable position, he heard the handcuffs crack. If he broke the bonds, they would be suspicious. He sat as still as he could. His arms were falling asleep but, he couldn’t risk trying to get comfy. 

After a long time of static arms, the door opened. Leader walked in. Buff was behind him with a grubby looking duffel bag. Peter felt a strange twang in his stomach. Like a rubber band snapped inside his guts.

“Peter,” Leader said in his father voice. “I want you to reconsider. I don’t want you to have to die for some guy in red tights. He hasn’t done anything for you.”

Peter shook his head. He could tell Leader wanted to torture him. No matter how kind his voice is, he could tell that Leader’s eyes were that of a maniac. 

Leader motioned to Buff who dropped the duffel and left. Now it was just Peter and Leader. Leader leaned over and opened the bag. He smiled as he pulled out a small hammer. His smile was so similar to Uncle Ben’s. Leader walked over to Peter tossing the hammer back and forth between his hands. 

“I’m going to ask you this once more,” Leader said calmly. “Who is Spider-Man?”

“I don’t know.” Peter said trying his best to not look at Leader or his tools. Leader walked behind Peter. Bang! Peter felt white hot pain in his left hand. He held in a scream. He gritted his teeth. 

“Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?” Leader said in a voice Peter hadn’t heard from him yet. It was a sadistic voice. It gave Peter chills. “Here let me take a look at that.” 

He grabbed Peter’s finger. And lifted it away from his hand. Peter gave a small yelp. 

“Dear dear. It looks like you’ve got a broken finger!” Leader said menacingly. Peter had had broken fingers before. It’s a small injury to deal with as Spider-Man. Peter wasn’t sure there was a bone he hadn’t broken whilst Spider-Manning. If a couple broken fingers was all Leader had up his sleeve, Peter would be fine. 

“You know,” Leader said. “That wasn’t exactly the reaction I wanted. But I know how to get you to talk.” He went back to the duffle bag and rustled around for a few minutes. He stood up and walked toward Peter again. He had a large needle with a green liquid inside. Peter’s eyes widened as Leader taped on the glass tube. 

“This will help,” Leader said.

“Wait wait wait-” Leader shoved the needle into Peter’s neck before he could finish speaking. Peter gasped and shut his eyes. He felt the needle go deeper and deeper into his neck. Then, he felt cold spread through his jugular vein. He could feel the cold climbing up his head through his veins. He felt it flow into his brain. An intense freezing sensation flowed through his whole body. He felt a pressure on his head. Almost like a brain freeze but times a million. He opened his eyes and saw Leader crouching in front of him. He looked more like Uncle Ben than ever. Leader smiled.

“Goodnight Peter.” Was the last thing Peter heard before being consumed by darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was in his lab typing Peter’s phone number into one of his many computers. He pressed enter and watched the radar begin searching. It would zoom into a building, search, and zoom out. It repeated this process for a long time. Tony sat staring at the screen hands folded and against his lips. Happy had yet to return to the tower. Tony felt horrible for just leaving Happy in the parking lot, Happy may have been concussed for all he knew. He was too hung up on Peter to worry about Happy. Before he could get further into his dark thoughts, the screen beeped as the phone was located. It was in an old warehouse on 17th street. Tony jumped out of his chair and tapped the housing unit on his chest. His suit materialized around him as he ran to the launch pad and took off. 

“Fri! Send me the coordinates to the warehouse,” He said.

“Yes sir,” The AI responded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter opened his eyes. He was in bed. His bed. In his apartment. He sat up and ran out of his room. His apartment was almost the same as he remembered. Just a few things were strange. The couch was against the wall instead of beside the kitchen. And May’s room was a bit more messy. 

“Hey Pete. How’d you sleep?” Said a voice behind him. Peter turned around and saw him. He nearly cried. 

“Ben?”

“Yea bud it’s me.”

“But you’re…”

“I know.”

“Then why-”

“Because you failed me Peter,” 

“Wha-”

“You failed me. You didn’t save me. How can you be Spider-Man if you killed me? I thought Spider-Man saved people.” Ben fell backwards onto the floor. Blood spurted out of gunshot wounds Peter hadn’t noticed. 

“Ben,” Peter fell to his knees beside the lifeless body of his uncle. Tears streamed down his face. He choked out a sob. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Tony. Peter stood up and hugged him. Tony pushed Peter away. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked. 

“Kid,” Tony smiled. “You killed him. You killed your own uncle. You’ll kill me too. You kill everyone.” 

“No please, I won’t!” Peter fell to his knees. Tony fell onto the ground dead. Peter Looked around. He was no longer in his apartment. He was in a warehouse. He stood up. May, Ned, MJ, Ben, and Tony were all lying dead on the ground. As he looked around, he heard a loud cracking noise. He looked at the ceiling and saw it crumbling. Before he could think of what to do, the roof collapsed on him. He felt the pressure of tons and tons of concrete on his back. He could feel his ribs cracking. His legs snapping. He yelled for help, but none came. He tried to lift it off, but he failed. He was a failure. He let his parents die, his uncle die, and now he would let everyone die. It was his fault. If he had been better maybe he wouldn’t have been kidnapped… Kidnapped? That’s right, He had been kidnapped after school. But then why was here? Oh the drugs. 

Just as that thought entered his head, he snapped his eyes open. He was back in the chair. His arms were handcuffed behind him.

“Hey Pete. How’d you sleep?” 

“Shut up,” Peter said angrily.

“What did you say to me?” The fatherly bullshit melted away completely.

“I said shut the fuck up,” Peter said looking up. “You act like you’re such a good guy for not wanting to put me through this, but you’re the reason i’m here. This ‘source’ you have is bullshit. She obviously doesn’t know me at all. I don’t even know Tony Stark. I’ve never interned for him before and I’ve never been to Oregon.”

“My source went to school with you. You told her everything about yourself. She went to the homecoming dance with you.”

“Liz?”

“Her father wouldn’t tell us who Spider-Man was, so we thought maybe his daughter knows. And boy, did she give us some information. You know who Spider-Man is and you're going to tell us. Everyday you don't tell us, we'll kill one of your friends. I think tomorrow would be a good day to kill Ned don't you?”

Peter couldn’t breath. His heart was going a million miles an hour. He couldn’t breathe in. He felt his head throbbing. He gasped for air. His whole body was getting that static feeling. Leader was yelling at him. He felt like he was underwater.

He had experienced this a few times before, but never this bad. He began tugging on his restraints. The handcuffs snapped easily. He grabbed his chest attempting to slow his heart. He felt someone behind him grab his hands and lift them away from his chest. Peter struggled and struggled. Not caring about his identity. Just needing breath. He heard yells, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He was hit in the face. This made him stop struggling, but it didn’t help him catch his breath. He was hit once more in the face. He fell to the ground. He wasn’t unconscious, but he was fuzzy. 

He heard whispers. He couldn’t make out what they were saying even with his enhanced hearing. They grabbed him by his arms and dragged him to another room. This room was dark and cold. They shoved him against a wall and clamped his hands into a machine above his head. His arms were the only thing keeping his body up. His head rested against his chest. It was very difficult to keep his eyes open. Someone crouched down in front of him. 

“Let’s see if you’re ready to talk tomorrow huh?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh twice in one day! i was too inspired today to not post two. I guess it was also to make up the one month gap lmao. School started and i'm a senior so i've been kinda swamped. Anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter! Special thanks to Midnight_Clover for the advice and support!

Peter awoke to sharp pain in his hands. It made his whole body stiff. When the pain finally stopped, he could feel his insides burning. It was like he was in a deep fryer.

“So that’s what that thing does,” Peter said after he caught his breath.

“Who is Spider-Man?” Leader said.

“We’re starting this early? At least brush your teeth first. Your breath smells like coffee.” Leader turned on the machine again. Peter had to stop himself from screaming. He couldn’t give these bastards the satisfaction. When the machine stopped, Leader spoke again.

“Who is Spider-Man?”

“Look man,” Peter’s voice cracked a bit. He hated himself for it. He showed Leader that he was weakening. “I don’t know why Liz told you that stuff but it’s not true.” The machine turned on. Peter couldn’t stop himself from screaming that time. It was on for longer than before. Leader must have been relishing in his pain. Then he turned it off. 

“That one stung…” Peter gasped.

“Who is the Spider-man?” Leader asked again.

“I don’t fucking know,” Peter yelled. He instantly regretted it. “Wait. Wait please I-” Leader turned the power of the machine all the way up. Peter screamed. His whole body went rigid and he couldn’t stop screaming. Leader kept it on for longer and longer. Just listening to Peter’s agony. Then he turned it off again.

“I’m only going to ask once more,” He said calmly. “Who. Is. The. Spider-Man?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Peter screamed as the machine turned on again. Tears began streaming down his face. He hated how weak he was. The machine turned off again.

"It was a lie. It was just a stupid lie my friend told to make me look cool in front of my crush," Peter rasped. "I don't know who spider-man is. It was just a dumb fucking lie." Peter choked out a sob. 

“I’m very disappointed in you Peter. Lying is a crime I cannot fully punish.”

“So you believe me?” Peter said as hope flowed through his veins.

“I believe you’re a liar.” Leader said as he activated the machine again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Tony had searched the warehouse for two hours. Peter was nowhere to be found. Tony was about to give up when he heard a tiny ping noise. 

“Fri scan for heat signatures!” Tony whispered.

“For the eighth time no heat signatures,” she said. Tony was glad he made her a bit human. It made searches like this easier to know someone almost human is there with him.

“Then see where that noise came from!”

“It’s from the floor below you. I’m not sure what it is.”

Tony walked to the nearest stairwell. He slowly walked down the cracked steps. Until he saw a grubby door with a rusted handle. He slowly creaked the door open. It was just a dark hallway. He didn’t see anything or anyone. Ping Ping. A little light from across the hall shone through the darkness. Tony flew over to see a cracked Iphone 4 laying in the filthy floor. Tony pressed the housing unit on his chest twice and the suit melted away. He picked up the phone. When he pressed the home button, he saw a picture of Ned, Peter and MJ. It was Peter’s phone, but why is it here and not Peter? Tony entered the password and the phone unlocked. Peter’s password was very easy to guess. It was his birthday. Tony had given Peter a housing unit for his iron spider for his birthday. Peter always wondered how Tony knew his birthday, but Tony watched him type his phone password every few minutes at the lab. 

Peter had 27 text messages. 26 from Ned, and 1 from a blocked number. He opened the texts from the blocked number.

You think we’d let him keep his phone?

Tony’s heart sank. He thought he was so close. Peter was gone for almost two days now. Who knows what they’ve done to him by now. 

They’ve killed him… He’s dead…

Tony shoved that thought away. The kid is too strong. He isn’t. He can’t be.

He pocketed the phone and began walking towards the stairs. He grabbed the rusty knob and pulled the door. It didn’t open. Shit. The door was solid steel. He couldn’t blast through it. He heard one of the doors behind him creak open. He turned around to look but the hallway was pitch black. He didn’t put his suit on in case it was a civilian. He didn’t want to scare them. Instead he kept his back to the door and watched for movement. He couldn’t hear anything. After a while he just blamed it on a draft and turned his attention back to the door. As he fiddled with the knob he felt a hard piece of metal hit him in the back of the head. He fell to the dusty floor unconscious.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long time of questions and shocks. After what Peter thought was hours, Leader left. Peter was left alone with his thoughts. He was surely going to give in soon. The way he broke down during the shocks, if they did anymore of that he would be toast. He didn’t even want to think about what they would do to him when they found out he was Spider-Man. He couldn’t keep up the act much longer. A few moments after Leader had left, Crowbar entered. He took Peter’s hands from the machine and hauled him to his feet. Crowbar held onto one of Peter’s arms, and Buff held the other. Peter tried to walk but they were so tall, his feet hardly touched the ground. They opened the door to another room. It was the chair room he was in yesterday, but they added a second chair. Peter’s heart started racing. Who had they gotten? Was it May? Ned? MJ? Oh god if it were one of them he would have to give himself up. The men shoved Peter into one of the chairs and tied his wrists to the arms. Peter could feel his heart beating through his whole body. Leader opened the door and crouched in front of Peter.

“You have a visitor.”

Buff and Crowbar dragged in a man with a bag over his head. Peter immediately knew it was Mr. Stark. His heart started beating faster than before. They were going to hurt him. And it would be Peter’s fault for not giving himself up earlier. 

They shoved Tony into the second chair and handcuffed his arms behind his back. Peter watched as they ripped the bag off his head. Leader grabbed a handful of Tony’s messy hair and yanked his head up. Peter squirmed in his chair. Leader just laughed and dropped Tony’s head. Peter wanted to punch Leader more than he’s ever wanted to punch someone. 

Tony began to wake up. His head began to roll left to right. Then he suddenly snapped his head up and began looking around. The first thing he saw was Peter. His eyes widened. 

“Peter!” Tony exclaimed.

“No. he doesn’t know me.” Peter said trying to cover for Tony who didn’t know any better. “I’ve never met him before I promise.”

“Well there’s only one way to test it.” Leader said enjoying every second of it. “Tony Stark, do you know this kid?” 

Tony looked at Peter. He looked desperate. “No.”

“So you won’t care if I kill him?”

“What?”

“You said you don’t know him.” 

Leader took out a syringe full of green liquid and walked to Peter. Tony didn’t know what to do. Peter obviously didn’t want the man to know they knew each other, but he couldn’t let Peter die. 

Peter gave Tony a reassuring look right before Leader jabbed the needle into Peter’s neck. Peter kept his screams inside as he felt the cold once again take over his body. He tried to stay awake this time. He knew what would happen if he let the drugs take him. He fought his body’s urge to sleep. His vision was fuzzy but he was still awake. He could see a blob of dark colors. That was Mr. Stark. He felt the static feeling again, but this time it hurt. It felt like a million knives being stabbed into him at once. He couldn’t stop his scream. They must’ve upped the dose since last time. Mr. Stark probably thought he was going to die. Maybe he was going to die. The static only got worse and worse. Peter wished he had just given into the darkness. His screams shriveled into nothing as he lost his voice. He felt the tired feeling again. This time he gladly gave into it. Letting the darkness overtake his body felt great. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony watched as Peter’s eyes rolled back into his head. 

They’ve killed him… He’s dead…

He stopped himself from crying. He had to keep the act up. He had never seen the kid before. 

“Well if anyone knows who Spider-Man is, It’s you.” Leader said to Stark.

“Only ever seen him with the mask on. All I do is make him look cooler.” He said stopping his voice from cracking.

“Well then, maybe i should let you stew in your thoughts then huh?” Leader said as he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter felt warmth. His whole body was warm. He opened his eyes and saw he had been asleep in Mr. Stark’s lab. He sat up from the desk and a blanket fell off him. Mr. Stark must have seen he’d fallen asleep and didn’t want to wake him. Peter smiled and stood up. He walked around the lab. He couldn’t find Mr. Stark anywhere.

“Uhhh. F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” Peter called.

“Yes Peter.” The AI responded.

“Where’s Mr. Stark?” Peter asked.

“He’s in the lounge.” She answered.

“Thanks Fri.” Peter said leaving the lab. As he approached the lounge, his Spider Senses went off. He felt that if he went in, he would be in danger. But that meant Mr. Stark was in danger. Peter wrenched the door open and saw Tony face down on the floor. Peter ran over to him and turned him onto his back. Blood was dripping from his mouth. His eyes were open and glazed. Peter began to cry. He had let Tony die. If he hadn't fallen asleep, Tony would still be in the lab with him. He let everyone die. Before he could think more, his Spider Senses went off again. He spun his head around and saw Adrian Toomes. Peter stood up and backed up into the wall. 

“You should’ve let me die Pete.” He said in a menacing voice. It made Peter feel cold. “Now I'll kill you. I’ll kill you dead. You hear me? That’s what I'll do to avenge my family. I’ll kill you and everyone you love.” 

The vulture began walking towards Peter. He had a wild look in his eyes. Peter had backed himself into a corner. He had nowhere left to go. He just slid his back down the wall and covered his face with his hands. He began to sob. He had no defense. His suit was in the lab, and Tony was dead. All he could do is die. 

When he lifted his head, he wasn’t in the lounge anymore. He was in his old house. His parent’s house. He felt so happy to be back. He rushed to find his parents. But they weren’t on the first floor. Then he heard it. They were fighting. Just like they had been the day before they died. Peter ran up the stairs. When he reached their bedroom, he could see their shadows under the door. They were arguing about him. 

“Peter is worthless! He can’t amount to anything!” Yelled his dad.

“That’s because you raised him wrong! It’s your fault we’re stuck with him!” His mom screamed back. 

Peter decided he didn’t want to hear them anymore. He ran down the stairs and out the front door. He sat on the curb. The night air was refreshing. He tried to convince himself they were wrong, but he couldn’t. He knew deep down that they had been right about everything. He began to feel numb. He didn’t even like himself. Why would anyone else like him? He rested his head on his knees and thought about everything he’s done in life. He had only two friends. He messed up being Spider-Man so much that he hardly deserved his suit, and he forced his aunt to raise a child she didn’t want. He felt the world pressing down on his shoulders. 

I’m a burden. No one should have to deal with me. I just get everyone killed. 

When he lifted his head from his knees he was back in the room. Tied to the chair. Facing Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark look so relieved to see Peter awake. Peter just tried to hide the tears that were spilling from his eyes. 

“Hey kid, you alright? That was some nap you took.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Stark. This is my fault. If I had just told them in the beginning you wouldn’t be here.” Peter said holding back sobs.

“Hey kid whoa this is not your fault. I came looking for you. That was my decision.”

“But if I had just told them, I would be dead and everything would be fine.”

“Hey! That would not be fine. You dead is not fine. If you died that’s on me.”

Leader walked in looking very pleased with himself. He walked over to Peter and grabbed a fistful of hair. He wrenched Peter’s head up. Peter let out a yelp. Tony saw the tear streams down his cheeks. Peter was embarrassed Tony saw him being so weak. He kicked himself for giving Leader the satisfaction of breaking him. 

“You ready to tell me Peter?” Leader said in his Fatherly voice. 

Peter didn’t say anything. He just spat in Leader’s face. Leader shoved Peter’s head away in disgust. 

“You’ll regret that,” Leader said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot longer than the others because i was really excited. I hope you're ready for the next chapter!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to upload I've had a lot of homework over the past month because of midterms but I'm back babey!

Leader wiped his face with the hem of his shirt. When he turned around, he was smiling. Peter got chills. It wasn’t the fatherly smile he had seen Leader sporting. It was the sadistic smile he saw just once before. Peter knew he was screwed.

“I want to talk to you alone Peter,” his voice was kind and calm. It was almost like a bad audio dub. Leader took out another syringe with the green liquid. Peter flinched. He didn’t want to see that stuff again. Leader flicked the side of the tube a few times before turning to Tony. Peter’s heart started beating rapidly. If those drugs kept Peter out for a while they could kill Tony! Peter fought weakly against his restraints. He couldn’t risk blowing his cover. 

Tony just sat there. He was trying to look unbothered. But, Peter could see the panic in his eyes. Leader grabbed a handful of Tony’s hair and yanked his head back. He shoved the needle all the way into his neck. Tony flinched a bit. Peter looked away. He knew what Tony was about to feel. The ice. Leader grabbed Peter by his curls and forced his head to Tony’s direction. Peter watched as Tony grit his teeth. His whole body tensed. Tony didn’t make a sound. He inhaled sharply. Tony’s eyes rolled back into his head as his body went limp. Peter closed his eyes. He was trying to convince himself Tony would be ok. 

“Now that it’s just us two,” Leader said in his kind voice. “You’re enhanced aren’t you?”

“Wh- what?”

“I saw you break those handcuffs like they were a couple of cooked spaghetti noodles. The first dose I gave you of those drugs only lasted 2 hours when a dose that strong should keep a regular person out for 10. The second dose was catered to you specifically. It lasted the full 10 hours. But, a dose that strong should kill a regular person within 5 minutes.”

“I don’t-”

“Is that why you have an internship with him?” Leader continued without acknowledging Peter. “Huh? He’s helping you with your powers so you get him coffee is that it?” Leader was so close to figuring Peter out. Peter tried to act like this was some outrageous accusation. But, he just couldn’t find the words. 

“What are you?” Leader asked in his sadistic voice. Before Peter could even respond, crowbar walked in with two shiny metal shackles. He quickly attached them to the wall. Peter started to get a bad feeling about was about to happen. Buff entered the room and uncuffed Peter. They grabbed Peter’s arms and dragged him to the floor. Peter began to fight against their grip. Leader kicked Peter on the head. Peter wasn’t unconscious, but he was close. He felt warm, thick, liquid pour down the side of his face. He assumed it was blood. The men raised Peter’s arms above his head and closed the stip of metal over his wrists. Peter thought it was the electricity machine. He sat and waited for the fiery pain to take control of him. But, it never did. 

Peter awoke (he didn’t even know he fell asleep) to Tony stirring. “Mr. Stark?” Peter called from across the room Tony didn’t answer. He just kept twitching. “Mr. Stark?” Peter called again. A bit louder this time. Tony began muttering. He was saying something about a water heater? No… Something about Peter.

“I’m sorry Peter,” he said clearly. Peter was taken aback. 

“Mr. Stark I’m ok I’m right here!” Tony didn’t answer. Peter struggled under his restraints. He couldn’t even bend them. The metal was stronger than him. Peter’s eyes returned to Tony. He was now shaking uncontrollably. 

Mr. Stark was dreaming of something terrible happening to Peter. And all Peter could do was watch. He called out to Tony a few more times before Mr. Stark’s body went slack. Peter struggled harder against the metal. His wrists had turned dark purple from his efforts to escape. Peter’s head fell to his chest. He was fucked. He was strapped to a wall and Tony might be dead. No one knew where they were. 

Peter’s thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. Leader walked in. He looked shocked for some reason. He took a few steps closer to Peter. He placed a gentle hand on Peter’s temple. Peter pulled his head away from the man’s hands. Leader held Peter’s face with his left hand and used his right to gently pet the scab on Peter’s face. 

“You heal…” Leader exclaimed. Peter felt sick. The longer he stayed here the more they’d figure out about him. 

Leader took a knife from his pocket and pressed the flat end against Peter’s cheek. The sharp edges let thin shallow cuts on his face as Leader slid the knife away. Leader studied the knife carefully before pressing it against Peter’s collar bone. He dug deep into his flesh Peter screamed when he felt the knife scrape against the bone. He could feel the tip of the blade carving layers off his collar bone. Peter’s wrists were probably black from all the strain against the shackles. He could feel sleep calling for him. He wanted so badly to just give up. To succumb to the darkness. But he couldn’t. The knife was pulled away and Peter took a deep breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding. 

“I’m going to give you one last chance Peter,” Leader said. “Who is the spider-man?”

“I don’t know,” Peter said, trying not to look as pathetic as he felt.

“Alright then,” Leader said as he picked up his knife once again. He placed the knife below the seam of Peter’s shirt. He dragged the knife all the way up ripping his blood-covered, science pun, tee-shirt in half. He pressed the knife against Peter’s stomach. Peter felt white-hot pain in his abdomen. Blood poured out of the wounds and soaked into his pants. Peter couldn’t even make a sound. He wanted to scream or call for Tony, but nothing came out. It felt like it lasted for hours before the man dropped the bloody knife on the floor beside Peter and left. Peter could feel the darkness calling him. But he had to resist. He wanted to be awake when Tony woke up. The only problem was there was horrible pain whenever he breathed. Peter called to Mr. Stark to wake up a few times before his head collapsed into his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter!! I had a lot of fun writing it as you can tell lmao. Hopefully will upload again soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short because I want to keep all the really good stuff for the final chapter. Ahhhh! only one chapter left! Also, thank you guys so much for your continued support on this story. This is my first story on this website so it made me really happy to see that you guys are enjoying it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Peter slowly opened his eyes. He felt weaker than he ever did before. He took a deep breath. Obviously, that was a mistake. He must’ve opened the wound on his stomach. He felt the blood drip down. His wrists felt like they were broken. He could hardly move his fingers. All Peter could do was breathe. But even that caused agonizing pain. Tony was still unconscious. Maybe that green stuff really does keep someone out for 10 hours.

Peter couldn’t help but think of how hopeless the situation they were in was. No one knew they were missing, and they were either gonna die if Peter didn’t give up soon, or Peter would die if he gives himself up. He began contemplating giving himself up. He could make a deal with Leader. He would give himself up if they let Mr. Stark go. Then, everything would be ok. No one important would die and it’s not like anyone would miss Peter. He was sure Aunt May would be happy to be rid of him. Mr. Stark would jump for joy. He wasn’t sure why these thoughts made so much sense to him when they probably sounded insane to anyone else. But he knew it’s what he had to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony opened his eyes. He felt awful. His head felt underwater. He lifted his head expecting to see Peter in the chair across the room. But he wasn’t there. The chair was empty. Tony began panicking. What had they done to him? Is he OK? His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a voice. “Mr. Stark I’m over here,” Tony turned his head to the left. Peter was sitting on the floor with his arms above his head. Tony’s stomach twisted when he saw the word LIAR carved into Peter’s stomach. There was dried blood on his pants and on the floor around him. Peter’s wrists were dark purple. 

“Kid…” Tony didn’t know what to say. 

“Are you ok?” Peter asked.

“I should be asking you that,” Tony replied.

“It’s just a scratch,” Peter said. Tony could tell Peter was in agonizing pain. “You were out for 10 hours. I thought you were dead.”

“We’re gonna get out of here ok?” Tony said trying to convince himself more than anything else. “We just gotta make a game plan.”

“No, it’s ok Mr. Stark. I already have one,” Peter couldn’t believe he was really gonna go through with it.

“Alright fill me in-” Tony was interrupted by the door slamming open. Leader walked in.

“That was quite the nap you took,” Leader mocked. “Does anyone feel in the mood for some sharing?”

“I do,” Peter said. Tony held his breath. They couldn’t have broken the kid. He was too strong.

“Go ahead,” Leader looked smug. Tony had never wanted to punch someone more. 

“First, we make a deal,” Peter began. “You let Mr. Stark go and I’ll tell you who spider-man is.”

“What?” Tony couldn’t believe it. They were supposed to get out together! He wasn’t leaving without Peter.

“Deal,” Leader said as he left the room.

“Peter you can’t go through with this he’ll kill you!” Tony said.

“At least you’ll be ok…” Peter mumbled he couldn’t bring himself to look at Tony.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

“It’s not your decision,” Peter said finally making eye contact. “You’re gonna leave and you’re gonna forget about me and pretend this never happened. It’s not like anyone is coming to help us! We’ve been down here for three days. No one has even tried to get us out. They basically know already just take your chance and get the hell out while you can.” It sounded like Peter had rehearsed that speech. Tony didn’t know what to say. He had never heard Peter talk so little of himself. Peter was almost always the one saying everything would be OK. What did they do to him to make him feel otherwise? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leader entered the room again. This time followed closely behind by crowbar and buff. The two uncuffed Mr. Stark and grabbed him by his arms. Mr. Stark began fighting against the grip of the men. “I’m not leaving without the kid!” He yelled. Buff and crowbar just dragged him out of the room.

“Well?” Leader asked.

“You have to promise he’ll make it home safe. And you won’t go back for him,” Peter said. He wasn’t sure he could trust the men to keep their word. 

“Promise,” Leader said. “Now tell me.”

Peter took a deep (and painful) breath. He was about to reveal his identity to maybe the whole world. Is this how Mr. Stark felt when he told the world he was Iron Man? “I’m Spider-man…” 

Leader ran his hand down his face. Peter recognized the gesture. Mr. Stark would do it after a long day in the lab. Leader began chuckling. His chuckling turned into full laughter. Psychotic laughter. He grabbed the chair Tony had been sitting in just moments ago and threw it across the room. Peter couldn’t take his eyes off the man. “We’ve had him this whole time!” Leader yelled. “We’ve had this little fucker for THREE DAYS and none of us noticed… I’m gonna fucking kill you. Hey boys! We got him!”   
Peter knew what he was in for. He just hoped they would make it quick. Leader crouched down beside Peter. He placed a gentle hand on the teen’s shoulder. “If you’re lying to me, you’ll regret ever being born,” his grip around Peter’s shoulder got tighter and tighter. Peter shrugged the hand off him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter coming soon!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS YALL! I'm not a huge fan of Christmas (my family celebrates Christmas). I've been writing this one for a while because it's 10 pages on google docs so it's really long. I've also been waiting a few weeks so it can be a present to you guys. THE FINAL CHAPTER AHHHHH. Enjoy!
> 
> I also want to thank everyone for 2000 reads! You guys are incredible and I'm so glad you're enjoying my story. It's crazy all this happened on my first fic like omg you guys are amazing.
> 
> WARNING: There's some hospital gross stuff. Also, I'm not a doctor so some might be wrong oops.

Tony was thrown into an alleyway. He fell to his hands and knees. His palms stung from the deep scrapes that formed from the rough concrete. As he tried to haul himself to his feet, the man who threw him gave him a hard kick in the stomach. Tony fell onto his side. He coughed in attempts to regain his breath. He rolled onto his back as his chest began rising and falling sequentially. He stood and turned around. A white truck was running just at the end of the alley. Tony heard one of the doors close and the truck sped off. He ran after it. When Tony reached the end of the alley the truck was gone. He looked around. He was at the edge of the city. He had to find a phone. He walked into one of the nearby convenience stores. Sure it was sketchy but he didn’t really have many options. He asked the bored-looking teen if he could use his phone. After a while of “You’re Tony Stark!” the kid gave up his cell. It was old and cracked. Tony dialed Happy’s number. 

“Who is this?” Happy’s voice crackled from the speaker. Tony almost cried hearing such a familiar voice.

“Hap it’s Tony. I need you to pick me up,” He said sounding much calmer than he felt.

“Where have you been?” Happy asked. “I’ve been looking for you for two days!”

“I’ll explain everything when you bring the car to the east side of town I’ll meet you on Bronxwood Avenue in wakefield.”

“On my way.”

Tony walked out of the store and sat on a bench nearby. He had to find a way to track Peter. Who knows what could happen to Peter if he tells them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter had no clue what was going to happen to him. He had been left alone in the room for a while. After a few minutes of Leader screaming and throwing things, He left. So Peter sat alone in the musty room. His arms had lost feeling at this point. He couldn’t even wiggle his fingers. It was hard for him to keep his head up without resting it against his numb arms. His abdomen had almost entirely scabbed up. That made it easier to breathe at least. 

Leader walked in with Buff and Crowbar. They were all looking quite smug. “It’s great to finally meet the amazing spider-man!” Leader said sarcasm dripping from his mouth. 

Crowbar took out another needle. Peter would have flinched, but it was empty. Leader saw Peter’s look of confusion. “We’re not injecting anything,” He said. This only made Peter more confused. That is until Crowbar shoved the needle into Peter’s neck. Peter could feel it sucking the blood from his jugular vein. The needle was pulled out. Peter could see the needle was half full of his own blood. They were going to test it. Who knows what they could discover about him. What if they find out how to weaponize him? Or create more people like him? Peter couldn’t let them test that vial. 

Peter felt a sudden burst of energy. He kicked Crowbar in the side of the knee causing him to crumble to the floor. The vial slid out of his hand and rolled towards Peter. Peter used his foot to slide it across the floor. He rolled it until it was under his foot. He raised his foot in the air and crushed the vial with his heel. Leader look enraged. He marched over to Peter and grabbed Peter’s ankle. Peter kicked him with as much strength he could muster. Leader flew backward and crashed into the wall. There was a huge hole in the plaster. Peter had to get out. He pressed his feet against the wall and pushed as hard as he could. He could feel the bones in his wrists grinding together, but he couldn’t stop. He had to get out. He felt the stud behind him give way and his arms came loose. He fell onto his arms. They gave way immediately and he fell on his face. Peter rolled onto his back. He took a few deep breaths. He had definitely opened a few of the cuts on his stomach. He didn’t have time to check though. He stood up. His spider-sense was screaming at him. He ran for the door. He slammed his body against it. It gave way instantly. 

He found himself in a long hallway. He didn’t stop to think. He just kept running. He ran until his body bounced off a wall. He fell onto his back. It was so dark he couldn’t even see where the hallway ended. His spider-sense had been going off the whole time he hadn't realized he was about to run into the wall. Peter felt along the walls of the hallway. It had just ended. There wasn’t a turn. Just a straight hallway with a dead end. He followed the hallway back and felt the walls for a door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony crawled into the back seat of the Audi. Happy’s worried face reflected in the mirror. 

“Are you hurt?” Happy asked as the door closed.

“No. Get me to the compound asap we need to track down Peter,” Tony said buckling up.

“Maybe you should get some sleep-”

“GO”

Happy floored it. They had 2 hours until they could reach the compound, and who knew how long until they could find out where Peter is. They were running out of time fast. Once they got to the compound, Tony ran into the elevator and went straight to his lab. His hands were shaking. He could hardly dial in his password for the glass door. He eventually got in and began typing furiously on his computer. If those bastards kept his suit’s housing unit then he could track it back to Peter. 

He opened his tracker and began searching. It could take a few hours to get a solid location. And there would be a few false positives. Tony kept his eyes locked on the screen. The green circle zoomed back and forth across the screen. Every once in awhile it would zoom in on a location. Tony would tense in his seat. But, it would cancel out and keep searching. Tony could feel his heart sink each time this happened. He was so focused on the screen that he didn’t even hear the glass door of his lab open. 

“Oh my God,” A voice said behind him. “Tony.” 

Tony jumped and spun his chair around. Pepper was standing by the door. “Pep,” Tony said standing.

“Where have you been? What happened to you? Are you OK?-” Tony cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. They stayed that way. Tony felt amazing holding her after so long. He almost forgot about the tracker. Almost. It beeped. Tony let go of Pepper instantly. He ran to his desk. They had a location.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter heard the footsteps long before he saw them. He could hear three men running at full speed toward him. He frantically searched for a door. The footsteps were within arms reach of him when he finally felt a doorknob. He swung the door open and slammed it in the men’s faces. He wouldn’t be able to hold the door closed against three men in his current state. He would hardly be able to hold off one full-grown man. He pressed his body against the door and looked around the room for a way to escape. It was a supply closet. There were no windows or doors. He had cornered himself. He was gonna die for sure. The men were banging on the door. He could feel the door vibrating after each pound on the door. He knew there was no way out of this. He jumped out of the way of the door and it swung open. It smacked against the shelf with a bang causing several cleaning supplies to thunder to the ground. The men seized Peter’s arms and began walking down the hallway towards the room. Peter wanted to fight back, but he didn’t want to upset the men any more than he already had. So, Peter just let them drag him back the musty room he’d known for the past three days. 

The men threw Peter to the floor. Leader threw a solid kick to Peter’s stomach. Then another and another. Peter coughed. Leader just chuckled. “Now I’m glad we killed Stark,” He spat. Peter’s heart jumped into his throat. He gave away his identity and Mr. Stark still didn’t make it out. 

“I thought we had a deal,” Peter said between deep breaths. Leader didn’t acknowledge Peter. He just walked toward the table and picked up a syringe. This one was full of green liquid. Peter didn’t struggle. He deserved it. He should’ve known better than to trust these assholes. Leader shoved the needle into Peter’s neck. Peter once again felt the static take over his body. A million needles stabbing into him. Peter didn’t scream. He just closed his eyes and welcomed it. He was waiting to be dragged into sleep, but it never happened. He just stayed awake. Had he grown a tolerance? It wouldn’t be surprising if he had. He had had these powers for almost two years and he was still discovering things.

Peter chuckled to himself at the thought of the drug not working. Leader and the men had long since left. When did they leave? He didn’t hear them leave. Weird. Peter heard a crash in the room next door. He jumped. He wasn’t tied to anything. Also weird. He crawled to the corner away from the noise. He watched the door. He heard more crashes. And a familiar sound. Why was it familiar? It was Tony’s repulsors! He came to save Peter! Peter stood and banged his fists against the door. All the crashes stopped. Peter froze. He heard footsteps come toward the door. Peter backed away from the door. It was blasted open. And there stood the Iron-Man armor. Peter almost cried. He walked toward the armor. But, he froze. The mask slowly melted away revealing Tony’s face. But there was something wrong. His skin was a pasty white. It looks strangely chalky. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “Are you ok?” Tony’s mouth opened. But, instead of words, blood poured out. Peter stepped backward. The blood kept pouring out. Tony began stepping toward Peter. Peter backed away until his back hit the wall.

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was flying faster than ever before. Peter was in an old abandoned school in Harlem. Rhodey and Vision were flying close behind him. The plan was to divide and search. They knew there were at least five men. So, they would keep their coms on at all times to count how many had been taken down. They all landed gracefully on the pavement in front of the school. Tony blasted the door open. The three of them split up and set off to find the kid. Tony went straight upstairs to look in every classroom he could find. Rhodey went to look around the office and the nurse’s office. Vision went to the gym and the cafeteria. Tony’s heart pounded harder and harder the more classrooms he searched. The dark boarded up windows didn’t help his anxiety. He felt like there were people peeking in through them. Suddenly, The coms crackled.

“Tones,” Rhodey called.

“What? Did you find anything?” Tony asked maybe too fast.

“No,” He answered. “I just think we should regroup. Get our heads back on right.”

Tony met up with Rhodey and Vision in the front foyer. None of them found anything or anyone. Was the tracker wrong? Did they hide his housing unit somewhere away from Peter? How could they have known he could track the unit?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter slid his back down the wall and curled his knees to his chest. He tore his eyes from the bleeding mess in front of him. He heard a thud. He looked up. He was back on the curb. He stood and saw his childhood house condemned. The windows were boarded up and it was completely dark inside. He always remembered the light that would flow out of the windows lighting up the whole street. And at Christmas time they would always have bright twinkling lights. The sight of his beacon of hope turned to this made him sick. He felt like people were watching him from behind the boarded-up windows. He turned away from the old house and began walking to the main roads. He had to get back home before May began to worry. 

As he turned for one last look at the house, he felt a sharp pain on his arm. It felt like a knife was slicing across his forearm. When he looked down, there was nothing. His arm was completely normal. He felt weird. Like he was about to throw up. He could feel bile coming up his throat. He tried to swallow it back but his mouth was too dry. He was just standing alone on this old street in the dark about to puke. Man, something really wrong was going on. Peter had the most unusual feeling of peace and danger at the same time. He felt wrong but right at the same time. And that only made him feel worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tony,” Rhodey said sadly. “We’ve looked everywhere… He’s not here.”

“There has to be somewhere else he could be!” Tony denied.

“I’m sorry but-”

“There is somewhere we haven’t looked,” Vision interrupted. “The basement.”

Tony didn’t say anything. He immediately began leading the way to the boiler room. When they found the door, they all took a deep breath. Tony slowly creaked the door open. It was completely dark. Just an old concrete staircase leading to black. Tony turned on his infrared vision. He scanned six heat signatures. One was very cold, but it was still there. The other five were together in a room. Tony assumed the colder one was Peter. 

As the three began creeping down the stairs, Tony noticed one of the stronger heat signatures going into the room with Peter. Tony felt red hot anger fill his body. He began walking faster down the stairs. Tony instructed Vision and Rhodey to take on the four in the big room and Tony would take care of Peter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter dragged his eyes open. The entire room was spinning. He immediately threw up. He felt like he was O.D.ing. Maybe he was. he wasn’t sure. He didn’t really care anyway. He watched as a man he hadn’t seen before entered the room. The man took a syringe from the table and examined it. 

“I already got one today doc,” Peter said in a raspy voice.

“Yes,” The man said. “But since Stark is here for you, we gotta give you another one.”

“Doesn’t sound very scientific,” Peter groaned.

“Shut up,” The man said approaching Peter. He shoved the needle deep into Peter’s neck. The door suddenly burst open. The Iron-Man armor standing in the doorway. The man removed the needle from Peter’s neck and stood up straight. Tony instantly fired his repulsor at him. Peter tried to back away from Iron-Man, but his arms were back in the shackles. The millions of needles were back. Peter screamed in pain. It was one hundred times worse than last time. He struggled against the shackles as hard as he could. He had to get out. He had to get out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony’s stomach twisted as the kid screamed in pain. Tony raised his repulsor at the shackles and fired. It snapped apart. Peter fell limp. Tony triple tapped his housing unit. The suit went into sentry mode. Tony fell to his knees beside Peter. He was hardly breathing. His pulse was low and his eyes were glassy. 

“Hey kid,” Tony said trying to sound calm. “I came back for you.”

Peter didn’t reply. His eyes just floated over to meet Tony’s. “Can you hear me, kid?” 

“Tired…” Peter mumbled. His eyes half shut.

“You can’t go to sleep ok?” Tony said sounding desperate.

“Ok…” Peter said blinking slowly.

Tony looked behind him. He could hear the other two were still fighting. He had to get Peter out of here ASAP. Tony hauled Peter to his feet. He put Peter’s arm over his shoulder and held him by the waist. Peter’s head lolled from side to side as they made their way up the stairs. The suit of armor close behind them. When they got outside, Tony laid Peter on his back.

“Are you guys almost done in there?” Tony asked over the coms. “I got the kid.”

The coms crackled. But, no one responded. Tony heard footsteps running toward the front door. He instinctively tapped three times on his housing unit. The century suit melted into his chest. Assuming it was Rhodey, Tony didn’t look up from Peter.

“Let’s get out of here,” Tony said. “Peter needs medical attention.”

“I sure hope he does,” Said not Rhodey. Tony looked up. Leader was standing above him. He was bleeding from his head and pointing a gun at them. Tony raised his hands in the air. “You’re not taking him anywhere. We need his body for a couple more tests.” There was no more fake care in his voice. It was all pure malice. 

Tony tapped his fingers together. Hoping his new upgrade to the housing unit would work. If he tapped his fingers a certain sequence, his housing unit should send a blast straight ahead. He had thought that at times like these it would take too long for the suit to materialize on him. But, it was untested. He never had time to test it, because he was going to get Peter to help him with it when he got to the compound on Thursday. 

Well no better time to test it out than now, Tony thought as he entered the combination. Immediately, the housing unit sent a roaring flash of light in Leader’s direction. Leader went flying backward. Rhodey and Vision burst out the door seconds after. Vision floated over to Peter and gently picked him up. He had passed out a while ago. They had to get him to the med bay quick. The three of them flew all the way to the compound. When they arrived, the medical team was already ready with a stretcher. Vision placed Peter onto the stretcher. Tony could feel his heart beating in his throat. Please be ok. Please be ok. Please be ok. Was the only thing going through his head. If the kid didn’t make it out, Tony wasn’t sure he could handle that. The doctors wheeled the stretcher into the compound. Tony followed close behind. He felt like he was about to pass out. His legs were shaking. His knees felt like jelly. He fell to his knees. He could hardly breathe. He felt hands on his shoulder. He could hear someone talking to him, but he couldn’t understand them.

Peter had already been wheeled out of sight. How long had he been on his knees? He closed his eyes to concentrate on breathing. It felt like he was underwater in his iron man suit. He only had 2% oxygen left and FRIDAY had to ration it to keep him alive. When he opened his eyes he was laying on his back. Two blurry figures stood above him. Tony closed his eyes again. The light hurt his eyes. 

When Tony opened his eyes, he was in his bed. He was freezing cold. He looked around the room. Same as he remembered leaving it. Had this all been a dream? Was he lucky enough to have been in the world’s longest nightmare on earth? Tony lept from his bed and ran to the door. The doorknob turned on its own. Rhodey walked in. Tony took a few steps away as to not get hit in the face by the door. 

“Tones!” Rhodey said spotting Tony. “Are you ok? What happened to you?”

Tony’s heart sank. It was all real. “FRIDAY?” Tony said.

“It appears you suffered an extremely severe anxiety attack. You could have died boss,” FRIDAY said in a slightly solemn voice. Tony knew it had something to do with his anxiety. It had been around since after New York. 

“Thanks for the help buddy. But, I gotta see the kid,” Tony said as calm as he could, walking out of the room. He raced down the hallway and into the elevator. He was wringing his hands harder than ever. By the time the door opened, his hands were red and sore. He ran into the med bay. He peered through the med bay window. He could only see the lump under the sheets. Peter’s feet. 

Tony slowly creaked the door open. Peter was asleep. His chest was bare and covered by stickers for the machines that filled the majority of the room. There was a tube in his mouth. And his arm was bandaged. And it looked like… They had handcuffed his wrists to the side of the bed. The handcuffs must have been vibranium. Tony slumped into the chair beside the bed. His eyes didn’t move from the heart monitor. The steady beeps were the only thing keeping Tony from breaking down. It was the only piece of ice keeping him from the freezing water.

Tony watched Peter’s chest rise and fall for hours. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must’ve because he was woken up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter’s eyes were open. But just a bit. You could just barely see the deep brown rings around his pupils. Peter’s expression was empty. He probably didn’t even know he was awake yet. The tube had been removed from his mouth. After a few seconds, his face turned pale. His eyes darted across the room. His chest began rising and falling faster and faster. The heart monitor beeped faster than ever. Peter tried to lift his hands, but they had been strapped down. Peter struggled against the restraints. Tony jumped to his feet. He placed his hand on Peter’s chest to try to soothe him. Peter screamed and thrashed under Tony’s hand. Tony backed off immediately. He tried to come up with calming words, but nothing would leave his mouth. He could only stand and watch in horror. The doctor burst through the door and instantly began adjusting machines and turning knobs. Peter was still fighting for his life. Tony heard the doctor say something about dose not working. Tony suddenly found his voice.

“He can’t get meds…” He blurted out. “His immune system burns right through it. If you up the dose he gets sick. We’ve tried everything. I’ve been trying to synthesize a pain killer strong enough for months. But…” He raised his arms in the air as if to say “But shit didn’t go well.”

The doctor looked worried. “If he doesn’t have any pain killers, or anything to put him to sleep, he’ll have to go through withdrawal while he’s awake. It’s going to be too much for him. That and his recent history with anxiety-”

“Wait, what?” Tony cut her off. “Who told you this?” 

“His aunt May gave me his medical history,” She replied. Tony would’ve been mad at himself if hadn’t heard Peter go suddenly, eerily, quiet. He turned around and Peter wasn’t fighting against the restraints. He looked like he was in pain. His face was scrunched up and he was breathing in short shallow breaths. Tony ran to his side and looked him up and down. The doctor appeared beside him and began touching Peter’s forehead and checking under his bandages.

“Please…” Tony heard Peter whisper. “Please let me go home…”

Tony’s heart broke. They had brought the kid home, but he had no idea. If he would wake up he would know he was safe. Peter went slack and his face smoothed. He was asleep. Or passed out. Tony didn’t really want to know. 

“The wound, on his arms reopened from his strain against the cuffs. They’re deeper than I thought I’m going to have to suture them. He’s already lost so much blood, ” She began rushing around the room grabbing equipment. “Do you have any B+ blood?”

“He can only receive his own blood. He’s radioactive. His body will reject any other blood.”

“Then go get me two bags of his blood!” the doctor yelled. Tony ran out the door and into the storage room of the med bay. He grabbed two pints of Peter’s blood and ran back into Peter’s med room. The doctor immediately took the blood and connected it to a needle in his arm. She began unwrapping the bandages from Peter’s left arm. There was a long deep gash. Tony wasn’t there to see that happen. He was glad he wasn’t. He could almost see the bone. The doctor began to clean the wound and prepare for stitches. Tony didn’t want to watch, but he had to be there for Peter. He didn’t have anything to numb the area. He couldn’t do it alone. So, Tony held Peter’s left arm steady against the bed while the doctor started the first stitch. Peter sturred for a moment. But, he didn’t wake up. The doctor continued without pausing. Peter awoke after two more. He gasped and held back a groan. Tony had to do something. The kid was AWAKE. He had nothing to numb the pain and now he was AWAKE.

“Hey kid,” Tony said. “You picked a bad time to wake up.”

Peter didn’t reply. He was keeping his eyes shut tight. “Hurts,” Peter said quietly. 

“Yea I bet it does. But for now, focus on me ok?” Tony said trying to sound calmer than he was.

“Ok,” Peter said weakly.

Tony looked at Peter’s sheet white face. His hair was poking out from all directions. He knew Peter’s hair did that on the norm. But, this was wrong. The untidiness of his brown curls was unwarranted. At least on a normal day, Peter would try to comb it down. This messiness was new. And Tony didn’t like it. 

Peter let out a groan as they reached halfway. He began to struggle under Tony’s grip. Tony kept his hands locked on the kid’s arm. Peter gritted his teeth. “Ow,” was all he said before his body went limp. The heart monitor slowed back down to a rhythmic pace. Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. The doctor quickly finished the stitches and bandaged him back up. Tony released Peter’s arm and sunk back into the chair beside his bed. He was more exhausted than he thought. He had hardly gotten a break since they found the kid. Tony’s eyes slowly slipped shut. The calming call of sleep washing over him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter could feel his heart beating out of his chest. There was a burning pain all over his body. It was white-hot. Peter didn’t scream. He couldn’t. He felt like he was underwater. If he breathed, he would drown. Peter wasn’t sure of where he was, however. He wasn’t floating, but he wasn’t standing. He also wasn’t even sure if he was fully there. Even though he wasn’t sure what ‘there’ was. It was dark and light at the same time. He felt weird. He felt wrong. He wanted to go home. To Aunt May. To his friends. To Mr. Stark. But, he couldn’t. All he could do was half exist in this weird place. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter began hearing things. He heard the beeping of a heart monitor. He could hear someone breathing. He could hear the birds outside. He could feel the breeze gently blowing on his face. He could smell disinfectant. It smelled like Aunt May after a double shift at the hospital. He could feel the exhaustion of the person in the room with him. Peter suddenly realized where he was. He tore his eyes open and sat up. He tried to swing his legs off the bed, but he was pulled back. He looked down and saw he was handcuffed to the bed. They looked fancier than regular police cuffs. He panicked. He tried as hard as he could to break them. He had to get out. He had to get out. He felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back to the bed. No no no! Peter fought as hard as he could. Until he heard a familiar voice break through his rushing thoughts.

“Kid, calm down before you break your stitches!” Peter paused. Mr. Stark? How could this be? Peter turned his head and saw a very disgruntled and very tired looking Mr. Stark. Peter sighed. He was finally safe. If this was a hallucination, he’d want to live in it forever thanks. He leaned back in his bed and let out a sigh.

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter said trying to stop the tears from spilling out. He looked so weak. He couldn’t cry in front of Mr. Stark. He would look like a child.

“Hey, kid. How are you feeling?” Mr. Stark asked in his normal nonchalant voice. But for some reason, Peter could sense something else behind it. Was it stress? Or maybe fear? No way. Tony Stark didn’t feel fear. He’s Iron Man. Iron Man was braver than anyone else. He flew a nuke into a wormhole! He can’t be scared of anything.

“How are you feeling?” Peter asked back. Tony looked rough. He had black lines beneath his eyes and his hair was messy. He was in his black sabbath teeshirt he wore in the lab. 

“I’m not the one that was found tripping on drugs in the boiler room of a condemned school,” Touche.

“I’m fine,” Peter replied. “Now how are you?”

“Fine,” Tony replied. Touche again. 

They sat in slightly awkward silence for a while. Peter hadn’t felt awkward around Tony for a while. Maybe when they were in the car after Berlin. It was weird. Usually, Peter had so much to talk about. Now, he was speechless. Nothing happened recently that he wanted to talk about. He didn’t even want to think about it. Mr. Stark could apparently tell what Peter had been thinking. 

“We don’t have to talk about it,” He said. “I know you’d rather just not. But, if you ever want to, I’m here. Or you can call me. I know you never do unless Karen forces you to. But, you can anytime. Get some rest.”

Peter smiled. How did he always know what Peter was thinking? Peter closed his eyes and gladly accepted the wave of sleep that washed over him. He was safe. He was finally safe. Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed reading! It feels great that people are enjoying something I made. I wrote another bonus chapter where Tony explains more about what happened with Leader and his guys and what they were planning. Let me know if you want me to post that as well. Thank you guys so much for reading and let me know any prompts you want me to write in the comments!


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